As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional vacuum cleaner 100 includes a vacuum cleaner body 110 having a suction motor 111, a dust-collecting chamber 113, a suction assembly 120 to draw in dust and air on a cleaning surface, an extension pipe 130 installed between the suction assembly 120 and the vacuum cleaner body 110 in order to form an air passage, a handle 140, and an extension hose 150.
The air drawn through the suction assembly 120 flows to the dust-collecting chamber 113 of the vacuum cleaner body 110 after passing through the extension pipe 130, the handle 140, and the extension hose 150 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2. Filth contained in the air drawn into the dust-collecting chamber 113 is filtered by a dust-collecting filter 115. The air cleaned by the dust-collecting filter 115 is discharged to the outside through an exhausting port 117 formed at a predetermined position of the vacuum cleaner body 110 after passing through the suction motor 111.
The user grips the handle 140 with one hand in order to clean the surface, and moves the suction assembly 120 thereon to draw in dust. However, when the conventional vacuum cleaner 100 is used to clean under a bed or a desk, the user has to bend his/her back so that the extension pipe 130 is parallel to the cleaning surface. When the user performs this cleaning operation for a long period of time, the user may feel tired and hurt his/her back. In addition, when the vacuum cleaner 100 is used while gripping the handle 140 with only one hand, the load of the suction assembly 120 is concentrated in that hand, thus, increasing the user's fatigue.
To solve the above problems, some users grip the extension pipe 130 with the hand that is not gripping the handle 140. However, this requires the user to bend his/her back to grip the extension pipe 130, causing fatigue after using the vacuum cleaner 100 for long periods of time.
FIG. 2 shows a vacuum cleaner 100 having a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160 installed between the extension pipe 130 and the handle 140 in order to improve the cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner 100.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160 is used to separate filth from the drawn air passing through the extension pipe 130. The filth is separated from the drawn air in the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160 by centrifugal force, and falls by its own weight to be collected at the bottom of the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160. Accordingly, the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160 should be maintained at a predetermined angle with respect to the floor in order to effectively maintain the filth separation efficiency.
However, when the conventional vacuum cleaner 100 is used to clean under a desk or a bed, as shown in FIG. 2 with a solid line, the extension pipe 130 and the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160 are angled downward. Accordingly, cyclone air current generated in the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160 is destroyed, and the separated dust is collected at a side of the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 160, lowering the dust separation efficiency.